Opinion + Morocco | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/commentisfree+world/morocco
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Ian the Climate Denialist Potato in Marrakech: the truth about fossil fuel lobbyists | First Dog on the Moonhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/ian-the-climate-denialist-potato-in-marrakech-the-truth-about-fossil-fuel-lobbyists
<p>There’s nothing sinister in all of this. Fossil fuel charity organisations are always at climate change talks – they’re just trying to help!</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/16/-sp-first-dog-on-the-moon-subscribe-by-email">Sign up here to get an email</a> whenever First Dog cartoons are published<br></li><li><a href="http://firstshoponthemoon.com/">Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop</a> if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints</li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/ian-the-climate-denialist-potato-in-marrakech-the-truth-about-fossil-fuel-lobbyists">Continue reading...</a>Climate changeCOP 22: UN climate change conference | MarrakechGreenhouse gas emissionsEnvironmentGlobal climate talksMoroccoUnited NationsFossil fuelsWed, 16 Nov 2016 06:51:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/16/ian-the-climate-denialist-potato-in-marrakech-the-truth-about-fossil-fuel-lobbyistsIllustration: First Dog on the MoonIllustration: First Dog on the MoonFirst Dog on the Moon2016-11-16T06:51:33ZAround Africa in 10 buildings | Joseph Contehhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/around-africa-10-buildings-architecture
From a mud-brick mosque in Mali to modernist cinemas in Angola, here’s some of the continent’s most memorable architecture<p>This list of 10 spaces from the ancient and modern world is by no means exhaustive, but it gives a flavour of the <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2010/04/28/dezeen-podcast-david-adjaye-at-the-design-museum/" title="">richness of African architecture</a>, the architects involved and the stories these buildings have allowed us to tell.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/around-africa-10-buildings-architecture">Continue reading...</a>ArchitectureAfricaArt and designSudanMaliAngolaMoroccoEthiopiaIvory CoastGhanaSouth AfricaKenyaRwandaWorld newsWed, 09 Sep 2015 06:30:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/around-africa-10-buildings-architecturePhotograph: Michele Falzone/Michele Falzone/JAI/CorbisPhotograph: Michele Falzone/Michele Falzone/JAI/CorbisJoseph Conteh2015-09-09T06:30:02ZMorocco’s refusal to host the Cup of Nations is rooted in prejudice | Sean Jacobshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/13/morocco-cup-of-nations-ebola-africa
Citing the Ebola outbreak for snubbing the tournament highlights the difficult relationship between north and sub-Saharan Africa<p>The African Cup of Nations is one of the toughest continental football tournaments in the world – 54 nations play multiple round robin and knockout stage games to compete for the final 16 places.</p><p>Morocco was scheduled to host the tournament in January 2015. Earlier this year, however, the country’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/16/morocco-africa-cup-of-nations-ebola-withdraw" title="">football association began to express reservations</a>, citing the Ebola outbreak in three west African countries, and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/08/africa-cup-nations-jeopardy-morocco-ebola-fears" title="">this week it decided to pull out of the tournament</a>. In retaliation, the controlling body for African football, the <a href="http://saharareporters.com/2014/11/11/ebola-caf-suspends-morocco-refusing-host-2015-afcon-tournament" title="">Confederation of African Football, suspended Morocco</a> and may still punish the country further.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/13/morocco-cup-of-nations-ebola-africa">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoAfrica Cup of NationsEbolaAfricaWorld newsMiddle East and North AfricaFootballSportThu, 13 Nov 2014 12:41:23 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/13/morocco-cup-of-nations-ebola-africaPhotograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty ImagesSouth African midfielder Lerato Chabangu tries an overhead kick against Cape Verde at the 2013 African Cup of Nations in Soweto. Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty ImagesSouth African midfielder Lerato Chabangu tries an overhead kick against Cape Verde at the 2013 African Cup of Nations in Soweto. Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty ImagesSean Jacobs2014-11-13T12:41:23ZThe Ray Cole case exposes the tyranny Moroccan gay people live under | Abdellah Taïahttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/13/ray-cole-tyranny-moroccan-gays-jamal
Cole can think himself lucky for being British, because his lover, Jamal, has been roundly rejected by the authorities and his family<p>An Englishman, Ray Cole, and a young Moroccan, Jamal, are walking in the streets of the Gueliz district in Marrakech. They are not doing anyone any harm.</p><p>Some passing police think otherwise: they arrest them and accuse them of homosexuality. A judge then <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/08/british-tourist-ray-cole-morocco-homosexual-acts" title="">sends them to prison</a>. The proof of their “crime” is the text messages and private photos that the police found in their mobile phones, which show their intimate relationship.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/13/ray-cole-tyranny-moroccan-gays-jamal">Continue reading...</a>LGBT rightsMoroccoWorld newsMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaUK newsMon, 13 Oct 2014 09:46:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/13/ray-cole-tyranny-moroccan-gays-jamalPhotograph: Dominic Lipinski/PARay Coles is greeted by his family at Gatwick airport after being released from jail in Morocco Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PAPhotograph: Dominic Lipinski/PARay Coles is greeted by his family at Gatwick airport after being released from jail in Morocco Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PAAbdellah Taïa2014-10-13T09:46:01ZTo claim that the EU is keener to stop refugees than help them is wrong | Štefan Fülehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/16/eu-refugees-morocco-migrants-rights
EU funds for Morocco help to protect migrants' rights, not to undermine them<br /><p>Paul Mason writes about illegal immigration into Spain – based on a report he presented for BBC Newsnight – under the headline: "The EU is ignoring the human rights abuses behind Morocco's razor wire" (2 September). This is not correct. The allocation of EU funds to Morocco (roughly €140m) is primarily designed to support social and democratic reforms in the country. This money, and how it is used, is approved by all the member states, including the UK.</p><p>We are mystified by Mason's claim that a "European commission spokesperson refused to specify the current amounts". My spokesman, in an email exchange with Mason's TV producer in April, denied that the payments were related to preventing immigration – stating that we are financing projects (in co-operation with local and international NGOs) to help improve the situation for migrants and ensure the protection of their rights.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/16/eu-refugees-morocco-migrants-rights">Continue reading...</a>European UnionMoroccoRefugeesEuropeWorld newsEuropean commissionMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaMon, 16 Sep 2013 18:05:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/16/eu-refugees-morocco-migrants-rightsPhotograph: Alvaro Barrientos/APAfrican immigrants queue for food in a refugee camp near the wired zone that divides Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Photograph: Alvaro Barrientos/APPhotograph: Alvaro Barrientos/APAfrican immigrants queue for food in a refugee camp near the wired zone that divides Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Photograph: Alvaro Barrientos/APŠtefan Füle2013-09-16T18:05:00ZThe EU is ignoring the human rights abuses behind Morocco's razor wire | Paul Masonhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/02/eu-ignoring-rights-abuses-morocco
European funding is being used to keep sub-Saharan migrants from leaving Moroccan territory, trapping up to 20,000 people<p>Ibrahim, from Gambia, paddled into what he thought were Spanish waters and phoned the coastguard, demanding to be rescued. They handed him to the Moroccan coastguard and he's now in Tangier. Amadou, from Cameroon, had tried to scale the border fence into the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14114627" title="">Spanish enclave of Melilla</a>. "The Moroccan cops beat us with their batons," he says. He was taken across the border with Algeria, near the city of Oujda 75 miles (120km) away, and dumped there with 35 others. Now back in Morocco, he lives rough, in a forest, reliant on the local mosque for food.</p><p>Gathering testimony from these men, and others like them, is not easy. They hide in the slums and forests. They bear the trademark scars I have seen on destitute migrants on all the borders of Europe: scars from racist beatings; scars from scrambling across rubble to escape the police. They have the deep fatigue and torn clothing that come with a life lived mainly under starlight.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/02/eu-ignoring-rights-abuses-morocco">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaWorld newsEuropeHuman rightsLawImmigration and asylumUK newsMon, 02 Sep 2013 19:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/02/eu-ignoring-rights-abuses-moroccoPhotograph: Rafael Marchante/REUTERSPolice in Morocco: A Médecins Sans Frontières report detailed 'a sharp increase in abuse, degrading treatment and violence' of migrants by the police and by criminal gangs. Photograph: Rafael Marchante/ReutersPhotograph: Rafael Marchante/REUTERSPolice in Morocco: A Médecins Sans Frontières report detailed 'a sharp increase in abuse, degrading treatment and violence' of migrants by the police and by criminal gangs. Photograph: Rafael Marchante/ReutersPaul Mason2013-09-02T19:00:00ZWhat does Abdessalam Yassine's death mean for Morocco? | Myriam Francois Cerrahhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/abdessalam-yassine-death-morocco
The Justice and Spirituality leader was a consistent opponent of the monarchy, combining Sufi piety and politics to powerful effect<p>Islamism is often thought to be antithetical to Sufism, but in Morocco, a Sufi-inspired Islamist movement has represented the most potent opposition to the monarchy since the 1980s. The death of its mystical leader, Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10570523" title="">last Thursday</a> has left many asking what direction Morocco's informal opposition will take.</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10572508" title="">Tens of thousands of people</a> converged on Morocco's capital, Rabat, to mourn the passing of Yassine, 84, the founder and spiritual leader of Morocco's largest Islamic opposition movement, Justice and Spirituality (al Adl wal Ihsan), a nonviolent group committed to the peaceful overthrow of the monarchy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/abdessalam-yassine-death-morocco">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaWorld newsArab and Middle East unrestProtestThu, 20 Dec 2012 14:05:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/abdessalam-yassine-death-moroccoPhotograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/APMourners surround the coffin of Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, who led the Justice and Spirituality opposition movement, in Rabat, Morocco, last Friday. Photograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/APPhotograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/APMourners surround the coffin of Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, who led the Justice and Spirituality opposition movement, in Rabat, Morocco, last Friday. Photograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/APMyriam Francois-Cerrah2012-12-20T14:05:52ZMorocco must answer for human rights abuses in Western Sahara | Brahim Dahanehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/10/western-sahara-morocco-human-rights-abuses
Twenty-three of those arrested by Moroccan police two years ago and subsequently tortured still languish in jail awaiting trial<p>Two years ago this week, just outside my home town of Laayounne in Western Sahara, in the early hours of the morning, Moroccan police and bulldozers moved in to destroy a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/12/western-sahara-peace-talks-stall" title="">protest camp called Gdeim Izik</a>.</p><p>The camp was a peaceful manifestation of the frustration felt by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_people" title="">Sahrawi people</a> over the poor living conditions, discrimination and human rights abuses they suffer in their homeland, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/17/western-sahara-forgotten-first-source" title="">occupied by Morocco for 37 years</a> – and a demand for the long-awaited <a href="http://www.betterworldcampaign.org/un-peacekeeping/missions/western-sahara.html" title="">referendum on independence</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/10/western-sahara-morocco-human-rights-abuses">Continue reading...</a>Western SaharaAfricaWorld newsMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaUnited NationsArab and Middle East unrestHuman rightsLawSat, 10 Nov 2012 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/10/western-sahara-morocco-human-rights-abusesPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesMoroccan forces dismantle the protest camp near Laayounce in 2010. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: AFP/Getty ImagesMoroccan forces dismantle the protest camp near Laayounce in 2010. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesBrahim Dahane2012-11-10T10:00:00ZImposing a fight for abortion on other countries can backfire | Sarah Ditumhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/23/imposing-fight-for-abortion-other-countries
Access to abortion is a vital human right, but patronising less liberal countries can simply entrench their anti-abortion position<p>The first rule of pro-choice: trust women. That applies to activism as much as abortion itself. Whether the aim is to serve an individual or a whole nation, the first thing you do is listen, carefully and attentively, to whoever you're trying to help. That's true when you're campaigning inside your own country, but even more so when the situation is complicated by the historical scar of colonialism: can you speak with women in other countries without taking their voices from them?</p><p>A boat belonging to the Dutch group <a href="http://www.womenonwaves.org/" title="">Women on Waves</a> attempted to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/04/abortion-campaigner-boat-moroccan-port" title="">dock in Morocco</a> this month. Women on Waves campaigns internationally for liberalised abortion laws and promotes helplines that advise on procuring your own medical abortion. It also uses its sea vessels as floating surgeries, performing medical abortions in international water for women whose home state criminalises the procedure.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/23/imposing-fight-for-abortion-other-countries">Continue reading...</a>AbortionHealthWomenWorld newsUruguayAmericasMoroccoIrelandNorthern IrelandUK newsTue, 23 Oct 2012 14:38:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/oct/23/imposing-fight-for-abortion-other-countriesPhotograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesMoroccans protest against the pro-choice Dutch group Women on Waves at Smir harbour, Morocco. Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesMoroccans protest against the pro-choice Dutch group Women on Waves at Smir harbour, Morocco. Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesSarah Ditum2012-10-23T14:38:52ZThe Fes festival resonates in the real world | Mary Finniganhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jun/26/fes-festival-morocco-spiritual-music
Faouzi Skali founded Morocco's spiritual music festival, a haven of peace among the bloodshed across the Arab world<p>The Moroccan philanthropist Faouzi Skali founded the <a href="http://www.fesfestival.com/2012/indexen.php" title="">Fes Festival of World Sacred Music</a> in 1994. For the past 12 years the programme has included an annual colloquium under the rubric Giving Soul to Globalisation. Every year philosophers, social activists, clerics, economists and academics from many nations gather in Fes to debate the headline issues of our time. They assemble under the branches of a giant Barbary oak, in the gardens of the Batha Museum, to swap information and promote radical solutions to intractable problems, in an atmosphere of candid and at times provocative free exchange.</p><p>This year, under the impact of the upheavals generated by the Arab spring, there was a fresh sense of urgency in their discussions – and an impetus to move on from talk about spiritual values towards putting them into action. Skali contends that in global economics, a new paradigm is needed: "There will be no change for the better until this happens," he says.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jun/26/fes-festival-morocco-spiritual-music">Continue reading...</a>World musicFestivalsCultureMoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaWorld newsArab and Middle East unrestReligionMusicMusic festivalsTue, 26 Jun 2012 07:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jun/26/fes-festival-morocco-spiritual-musicPhotograph: China Photos/Getty ImagesBjörk is performing at the Fes festival in Morocco this year. Photograph: China Photos/Getty ImagesPhotograph: China Photos/Getty ImagesBjörk is performing at the Fes festival in Morocco this year. Photograph: China Photos/Getty ImagesMary Finnigan2012-06-26T07:30:00ZMorocco's second spring | Issandr El Amranihttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/morocco-second-spring-king-revolution
Morocco's king was hailed for deftly avoiding revolution. But as other Arab regimes found, promises of reform only go so far<p>There are cautionary tales in the Arab uprisings, as Syria has shown: not every revolution can be as successful as Tunisia's, not every aftermath is rosy. And then there are also questions raised about those places where revolution did not take place. Was it averted because there is wise and popular government, or has some kind of social shock merely been postponed?</p><p>Last year Morocco seemed for a while to be following the path of its eastern neighbours. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/18/morocco-demonstrations-test-regime" title="">Protests were proliferating</a>, with public participation unseen since the 1970s. King Mohammed VI, whose legitimacy was never targeted by the protests – even if that of his regime was – deftly retook the initiative by proposing, and hurriedly passing, a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/01/morocco-voters-bac-king-constitution" title="">new constitution</a>. Elections that followed led, for the first time, to victory for the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD by its French acronym), which is now in office. Surely, some observers marvelled, here was a model to follow for countries faced with demands for change, one that offered fewer dangers than revolution?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/morocco-second-spring-king-revolution">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaProtestWorld newsTue, 17 Apr 2012 21:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/morocco-second-spring-king-revolutionPhotograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesSecurity guards attempt to disperse protesters in front of the Moroccan parliament in Rabat in January 2011. Photograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesSecurity guards attempt to disperse protesters in front of the Moroccan parliament in Rabat in January 2011. Photograph: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesIssandr El Amrani2012-04-17T21:00:02ZThe Western Sahara: forgotten first source of the Arab Spring | Carne Rosshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/17/western-sahara-forgotten-first-source
It's time the US and the UN stopped looking the other way while the west's ally Morocco occupies and abuses the Sarahawis<p>The Arab Spring began in the Western Sahara. In late 2010, the indigenous Saharawi population of this territory demonstrated against the occupying Moroccan authorities. Their demonstrations were violently put down. Eleven Saharawis were killed.</p><p>But this is one part of the Arab Spring that western governments don't want to talk about. And their silence, and the UN's complicity in it, is why that repression continues, and a terrible injustice is perpetuated.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/17/western-sahara-forgotten-first-source">Continue reading...</a>Western SaharaMoroccoUnited NationsHuman rightsWorld newsUS foreign policyHillary ClintonMiddle East and North AfricaArab and Middle East unrestFranceNicolas SarkozyTue, 17 Apr 2012 19:30:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/apr/17/western-sahara-forgotten-first-sourcePhotograph: Jose Rueda/APAminatou Haidar, the Western Sahara independence activist, speaking to press during her 2009 hunger strike, in Lanzarote, Spain. Photograph: Jose Rueda/APPhotograph: Jose Rueda/APAminatou Haidar, the Western Sahara independence activist, speaking to press during her 2009 hunger strike, in Lanzarote, Spain. Photograph: Jose Rueda/APCarne Ross2012-04-17T19:30:37ZEl Haqed, Morocco's hip hop revolutionary | Torie Rose DeGhetthttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/el-haqed-morocco-hip-hop-revolutionary
By dragging the rapper to court for his incendiary lyrics, the state isn't silencing him, it is drawing attention to his work<p>Since the initial popularity of Moroccan rapper <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Haqed" title="">El Haqed</a>'s incendiary lyrics calling out police corruption and the oppression of the monarchy, he and his music have become one of the dominant public voices of the Moroccan protest movement.</p><p>Morocco's revolutionary story has been granted a lot less media focus internationally than some of its north African neighbours, partly because of how crafty the regime has been in creating the veneer of democratic reform while maintaining an oppressive political and economic hold, trying to deftly spin its way out of a full-on Tahrir situation. El Haqed, best translated as "the indignant", has, through both his songs and his arrests, managed to highlight the real nature of the Moroccan regime.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/el-haqed-morocco-hip-hop-revolutionary">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoMusicHip-hopCensorshipArab and Middle East unrestRapWorld newsCultureTue, 17 Apr 2012 12:10:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/17/el-haqed-morocco-hip-hop-revolutionaryPhotograph: L7a9ed.com/Creative CommonsMouad Belghouat, aka El Haqed, on his release from prison earlier this year. Photograph: L7a9ed.com/Creative CommonsPhotograph: L7a9ed.com/Creative CommonsMouad Belghouat, aka El Haqed, on his release from prison earlier this year. Photograph: L7a9ed.com/Creative CommonsTorie Rose DeGhett2012-04-17T12:10:01Zينبغي على من يؤمنون بالديمقراطية أن يرحبوا بمشاركة الإسلاميين في السلطةhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/29/middleeast-egypt
من تونس الى المغرب فمصر يحصد الاسلاميون أصوات أعداد كبيرة في الانتخابات، وبدلا من أن ننظر إلى ذلك على انه تهديد لمستقبل الديمقراطية، ينبغي أن نفسح المجال للجميع دون إقصاء...<br />• <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/27/islamist-arab-spring-west-fears">Read this story in English</a><p>فوز حركة النهضة الإسلامية بـ ٤١ بالمئة من مقاعد الجمعية التأسيسة التونسية الشهر الماضي أثار جدلا واسعا حول صعود الإسلام السياسي في الواقع العربي، وانطلقت أصوات كثيرة في الإعلام الغربي تخذر من أن الربيع العربي سينتهي إلى شتاء إسلامي، ومن أن الإسلاميين الذين يمتطون الديمقراطية سرعان ما سينقلبوا عليها ويؤسسوا لإماراتهم الإسلامية ذات الصورة النمطية المنغرسة في الوعي الغربي منذ الحادي عشر من سبتمبر</p><p>حركة النهضة التونسية التي فازت بالانتخابات البرلمانية التونسية لن تكون استثناء في الواقع العربي، فقد حصل حزب العدالة والتنمية على المرتبة الأولى في الانتخابات المغربية، ومن المتوقع أن يتقدم الإسلاميون في الانتخابات التشريعية الاسبوع القادم في مصر ، وإذا أجريت انتخابات حرة ونزيهة في اليمن حال سقوط نظام الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح فمن المتوقع أن يفوز التجمع اليمني للإصلاح ذو الخلفية الإسلامية، وهو نمط سنراه يتكرر في الواقع العربي كلما أتيح للعملية الديمقراطية أن تأخذ مجراها.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/29/middleeast-egypt">Continue reading...</a>Middle East and North AfricaEgyptTunisiaTunisian elections 2011MoroccoSyriaTurkeyAfricaIslamTue, 29 Nov 2011 12:24:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/29/middleeast-egyptPhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Andrzej Krauze Photograph: GuardianPhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Andrzej Krauze Photograph: Guardianوضاح خنفر2011-11-29T12:24:00ZThose who support democracy must welcome the rise of political Islam | Wadah Khanfarhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/27/islamist-arab-spring-west-fears
From Tunisia to Egypt, Islamists are gaining the popular vote. Far from threatening stability, this makes it a real possibility<br /><br />•<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/29/middleeast-egypt"> طالع المقال بالعربية</a><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/22/tunisia-election-winners-ennahda-ettakatol" title="The Guardian - Tunisia's election winners form interim government after uprising">Ennahda</a>, the Islamic party in Tunisia, won 41% of the seats of the Tunisian constitutional assembly last month, causing consternation in the west. But Ennahda will not be an exception on the Arab scene. Last Friday the Islamic Justice and Development Party took the biggest share of the vote in Morocco and will lead the new coalition government for the first time in history. And tomorrow <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2011/nov/27/egypt-middleeast?newsfeed=true" title="The Guardian - Egyptian elections: live updates">Egypt's elections</a> begin, with the Muslim Brotherhood predicted to become the largest party. There may be more to come. Should free and fair elections be held in Yemen, once the regime of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/24/yemen-ali-abdullah-saleh-resigns?newsfeed=true" title="The Guardian - Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh resigns but it changes little">Ali Abdullah Saleh</a> falls, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, also Islamic, will win by a significant majority. This pattern will repeat itself whenever the democratic process takes its course.</p><p>In the west, this phenomenon has led to a debate about the "problem" of the rise of political Islam. In the Arab world, too, there has been mounting tension between Islamists and secularists, who feel anxious about Islamic groups. Many voices warn that the Arab spring will lead to an Islamic winter, and that the Islamists, though claiming to support democracy, will soon turn against it. In the west, stereotypical images that took root in the aftermath of 9/11 have come to the fore again. In the Arab world, a secular anti-democracy camp has emerged in both Tunisia and Egypt whose pretext for opposing democratisation is that the Islamists are likely to be the victors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/27/islamist-arab-spring-west-fears">Continue reading...</a>EgyptTunisiaTunisian elections 2011MoroccoSyriaTurkeyMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaIslamWorld newsSun, 27 Nov 2011 19:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/27/islamist-arab-spring-west-fearsPhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Andrzej KrauzePhotograph: GuardianIllustration by Andrzej KrauzeWadah Khanfar2011-11-27T19:30:00ZCan elections ease the royal grip on Morocco? | Mohamed Ben-Madanihttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/23/morocco-elections-royal-grip
The Moroccan elite pins its hopes on evolution, not revolution. But progress is about economic equality, not just democracy<p>Although elections were not due to be held in Morocco until September 2012, they were <a href="http://carnegieendowment.org/2011/11/22/will-morocco-s-elections-subdue-popular-protests/7ntj" title="">brought forward</a> to Friday in response to widespread protests earlier this year demanding democratic reforms. King Mohammed set up a commission led by his former teacher, Abdellatif Mennouni, to draft <a href="http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1106a.htm#morocco_king_maps_out_a_new_constitution" title="">a new constitution</a>, which was then approved by a referendum on 1 July. This resulted in the following changes:</p><p>1. The king must name a prime minister from the largest political party in parliament.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/23/morocco-elections-royal-grip">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoArab and Middle East unrestMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaWorld newsWed, 23 Nov 2011 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/23/morocco-elections-royal-gripPhotograph: Chafik Arich/AFP/Getty ImagesA Moroccan woman holds a sign in support of the opposition February 20 movement. Photograph: Chafik Arich/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Chafik Arich/AFP/Getty ImagesA Moroccan woman holds a sign in support of the opposition February 20 movement. Photograph: Chafik Arich/AFP/Getty ImagesMohamed Ben-Madani2011-11-23T13:00:00ZScott Atran: 'US foreign policy is set by people who've almost no insight into human welfare, education, labour, desires or hopes' - videohttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/video/2011/oct/31/scott-atran-us-foreign-policy-video
Anthropologist Scott Atran looks at why foreign policy is failing and takes the example of a USAID project in Morocco that the bureaucrats don't know how to deal with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/video/2011/oct/31/scott-atran-us-foreign-policy-video">Continue reading...</a>US foreign policyMiddle East and North AfricaMoroccoAfricaUSAidMon, 31 Oct 2011 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/video/2011/oct/31/scott-atran-us-foreign-policy-videoDavid Shariatmadari and Christian Bennett2011-10-31T09:00:00ZAlgeria's regime: out on a limb that looks set to fall | Brian Whitakerhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/arab-uprising-algeria-next
By giving the Gaddafi family refuge, Algeria's gerontocracy is putting itself on the wrong side of history<p>With three out of five countries now under new management along the north African coast, the spotlight is turning towards the remaining two: Algeria and Morocco.</p><p>In Morocco, where <a href="http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1106a.htm#morocco_king_maps_out_a_new_constitution" title="Brian Whitaker blog: 'Morocco: King maps out a new constitution'">a new constitution</a> was approved in July, the king's promises of reform may succeed in staving off a mass revolt – at least for the time being. Morocco also <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201108231326.html" title="All Africa: 'Morocco: Govt Confirms Recognition of Libyan Transitional Council'">recognised the national transitional council (NTC)</a> in Libya with deft timing a week ago, declaring its support for "the legitimate aspirations of the brotherly Libyan people".</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/arab-uprising-algeria-next">Continue reading...</a>AlgeriaMoroccoArab and Middle East unrestMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaWorld newsLibyaTue, 30 Aug 2011 11:12:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/arab-uprising-algeria-nextPhotograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty ImagesAlgerian protesters throw stones at an anti-riot policeman during clashes in Algiers in January. Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty ImagesAlgerian protesters throw stones at an anti-riot policeman during clashes in Algiers in January. Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty ImagesBrian Whitaker2011-08-30T11:12:26ZThe aftermath of the Arab spring | Simon Tisdallhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/06/arab-spring-aftermath
The Middle East and north African uprisings have had unpredictable consequences for the revolutionary states<p>The aftermath of revolution is never pretty or neat. But some Arab spring countries are coping better than others with the impact of this year's region-wide unrest and its unpredictable consequences. At one end of the spectrum stands Morocco. After much debate, and a series of largely peaceful demonstrations by the February 20 opposition movement, modest <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/01/morocco-voters-bac-king-constitution" title="Guardian: Moroccan voters set to back king's new constitution">constitutional reforms</a> proposed by King Mohammad received overwhelming support in a referendum last week.</p><p>That's not the end of the story. Thousands of people subsequently took to the streets of Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier, protesting that the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/23/morocco-new-constitution" title="Guardian: Why I reject Morocco's new constitution">reforms did not go far enough</a>. "Morocco is being pushed towards a tipping point. The question is whether limited reform continues or whether much more is needed," said <a href="http://ecfr.eu/content/profile/C43" title="ECFR: Susi Dennison">Susi Dennison</a>, coauthor of a new study on how the EU might assist Morocco's democratic evolution, published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank. Similar considerations apply in Tunisia and Algeria, too.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/06/arab-spring-aftermath">Continue reading...</a>Arab and Middle East unrestSyriaMoroccoLibyaEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaWorld newsWed, 06 Jul 2011 17:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/06/arab-spring-aftermathPhotograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty ImagesAn Egyptian army band plays music in Cairo's Tahrir Squareto celebrate the departure from power of Hosni Mubarak. Photograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/GettyPhotograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty ImagesAn Egyptian army band plays music in Cairo's Tahrir Squareto celebrate the departure from power of Hosni Mubarak. Photograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/GettySimon Tisdall2011-07-06T17:30:00ZMorocco's king is destroying hope for democracy | Ahmed Benchemsihttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/30/morocco-king-destroy-democracy
With the protest movement weakened, King Mohammed VI is forcing constitutional change and retaining absolute power<p>"This is my way: I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whoever follows me."</p><p>It was with this these words, <a href="http://quran.com/12/108" title="Quran">quoted from the Qur'an</a>, that King Mohammed VI ended <a href="http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/morocco/kings_speech_17_6_2011.htm" title="Al-Bab: Speech by King Mohammed VI of Morocco in Rabat, 17 June 2011.">his speech on 17 June</a>, urging Morocco's people to vote for his new constitution project in a referendum to be held on 1 July.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/30/morocco-king-destroy-democracy">Continue reading...</a>MoroccoWorld newsArab and Middle East unrestAfricaMiddle East and North AfricaThu, 30 Jun 2011 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jun/30/morocco-king-destroy-democracyPhotograph: Azzouz Boukallouch/AFP/Getty ImagesMorocco's King Mohammed VI greets the crowd in Marrakech after the February protests. Photograph: Azzouz Boukallouch/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Azzouz Boukallouch/AFP/Getty ImagesMorocco's King Mohammed VI greets the crowd in Marrakech after the February protests. Photograph: Azzouz Boukallouch/AFP/Getty ImagesAhmed Benchemsi2011-06-30T09:00:00Z